Which of these receivers to get? - Need second zone

[mysticalice]

Hi,

We moved into a house that has a living room that backs up to the outside pool area. I'd like to get a receiver that supports dual zones (either powered or at least a line out for it), so we can have speakers in the living room, and speakers outside.

I've narrowed my selection down to either the Denon AVR1913 or AVR1713. The only difference between the two is one of them (the 1913) has a powered zone 2 - where i'd just have to connect the outdoor speakers, and the other (the 1713) has a RCA 'line out' for the second zone.

I have no problem getting an amp for the second zone, but my two questions were:

1) On either receiver, is it possible to play a separate SOURCE for the second zone? For instance I may want to have Pandora playing in the background for the living room, but playing a CD or other input for the second zone
2) Which should I go with - the powered zone 2 or line out zone 2 (needing a power amp)? I do worry that the 'powered zone 2' will not be loud enough for us, as it's going to have to power 4 speakers outside (two on the one channel, hooked up in paralle, and two on the other channel, in parallel). I don't have a problem getting an amplifier (like an Audio Source 100 pro amp).

Open to any suggestions

 

[mysticalice]

It also worries me on the 1713 where I would plug an input in. Looking at the back of the unit, there's no spot for "CD" -

Denon AVR-1713 - AV receivers - CNET Reviews

The above website has the back panel of both the 1913 and 1713.

 

[mysticalice]

I guess i'm not DEAD set on the Denons, but they do have (from what i've heard) good 2nd zone capabilities

Also considering Onkyo TX-NR626 or Sony STR-DN1030

 

[PSM1]

Also, you do realise that the second zone only works for analogue sources to the receiver and the internal tuner/network. So anything connected to the receiver via HDMI, optical or coaxial can not be played through zone 2. You can have one source for zone 1 and another for zone 2 playing at the same time. If looking at powering 4 speakers then you need to consider the impedance the amp will see. 2 speakers in parallel of 8 ohms will give an impedance at the amp of 4 ohms which is only just acceptable (and probably a little low if you want to play loud) but if the speakers are lower impedance than 8 ohms then you will be dropping to levels that could damage the reciever hence a separate amp may be a better idea.
What speakers are you looking at getting in each location?

 

[mysticalice]

Thank you for the response. Yes sir, I understand that the second zone only works for analog inputs (was going to use the RCA CD player input or something similar).
Also there will be times we'll want what's playing on the first zone to be playing on the second zone too, and it was my understanding dual zone receivers support that feature too. Let me know if I'm wrong

Haven't decided on speakers just yet. Open to any suggestions - they'll need to be outdoor

 

[mysticalice]

What worries me, is the receiver I've been looking at that has dual zone line out, the Denon 1713, which allows me to get a separate amp, doesn't seem to have any aux inputs (i don't see an input for CD, etc, which surprises me) :
http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/04/25/Denon_AVR-1713.jpg

However the Denon 1913, which has powered zone 2, has aux inputs (on the left of it in the picture below - it has CD RCA inputs, etc) :
http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/04/25/Denon_AVR-1913.jpg

 

[mysticalice]

If i had to, I could get by with 2 good speakers outside, instead of 4. Coverage wouldn't be as good, but as long as they're good quality and can still get loud enough, that should work, if that ends up being the limiting factor

 

[PSM1]

The 1713 has analogue inputs on top right. They are labelled sat and dvd but will be fine with a cd player attached.

 

[mysticalice]

But if I use those inputs, I won't be able to plug into the Sat or DVD HDMI ports at the back will I? It's one or the other isn't it?

 

[mysticalice]

If I went with an external amplifier, like the audio source 110 amp for example, which is rated at 110 watts stereo at 4 ohm, if I connect the speakers in parallel, two per channel (four total), then each speaker would get 55W ?

Amazon.com: AudioSource AMP 110 75-Watt Stereo 225-Watt Mono Power Amplifier (Black): Electronics